1. Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are great sources of beta-carotene, which our body converts to vitamin A. Beta-carotenes act as potent antioxidants, protecting cells from oxidative damage which accelerates aging and causes diseases.

Sweet potatoes are also a good source of vitamin C, which fights free radicals and protects our skin. According to Reader’s Digest, British researchers found that vitamin C–rich foods reduced the risk of wrinkles by 36 percent.

You may have to boil or steam your sweet potatoes to obtain the nutritional benefits. Recent studies show excellent preservation of sweet potato anthocyanins with steaming, and several studies comparing boiling to roasting have shown better blood sugar effects. And yes, add some olive oil to your sweet potato to absorb the beta-carotene better. The best part is, sweet potatoes can protect your eyes given its high vitamin A content.

3. Tomatoes

Tomatoes are very high in lycopene, which can protect our skin against sun damage and cancer. According to BBC, about 85 percent of lycopene in the western diet are obtained from tomatoes, and the best place to find it is in tomato paste.

Adding to this, a recent study published in the Journal of British Dermatology showed that tomato paste containing lycopene provides protection against photodamage from the sun.

5. Green Tea

Green tea also contains polyphenols, which protects your skin against free radical exposure and boost its antioxidant protection. Drinking two or more cups of either black or green tea may reduce the risk of developing skin cancer.

Andre Rawlemon, the architect and designer, says his spherical, sun-tracking glass globe is able to concentrate sunlight and moonlight up to 10,000 times and that the system is 35 percent more efficient than photovoltaic designs that track the sun. One of Rawlemon’s idea is to build these globes into the exterior walls of buildings and use them to generate electricity. For other uses and beautiful images of the globes, click here.

These Sun Cheese Sticks are so addicting. My husband and I love them. They have the crispy saltiness that makes the perfect snack, crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The lemon gives it a tangy edge that satisfies your sweet/salty addiction.
2 1/2 c. sunflowers, soaked, then sprouted for 1- 1/2 days (You can omit this sprouting, if you like.)
1/2 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. coconut aminos
4 garlic cloves
optional – 3 T. nutritional yeast – not raw

Combine all in a food processor and roll/pat into 2″ sticks onto a dehydrator sheet at 100 degrees for 18-24 hours until slightly crispy on the outside. Eat them warm!

24 calories per cheesestick

http://www.vegparadise.com/highestperch511.html

Medicinal Benefits
Native Americans valued all parts of the sunflower for its healing properties. For cuts and bruises, the juices from the stem were applied directly to the injured areas.

They made a liniment by boiling the roots and applying the warm liquid to relieve any inflammation, pain and itching from poison ivy, snakebites and rheumatism. The seeds were used as a diuretic, as relief for constipation, chest pain, and ulcers, to rid the body of worms, and to cure warts.

Russians had a unique remedy for relieving rheumatism. They combined chopped sunflower heads, soap chips, and vodka into a mixture that was sun-aged for a period of nine days, and then rubbed the potion on their achy joints.

A tea made by boiling the stems of the sunflower offered relief from coughs and fevers.

John Douglas, a physician, recommends raw sunflower seeds to his patients with cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure because they are high in potassium and low in sodium. He also found that raw sunflower seeds offered allergy relief to some of his patients. For patients who were in his stop-smoking program, he recommended sunflower seeds, not only for their nutritional benefits, but to provide an activity to keep their hands and mouths busy.

The high vitamin E and polyunsaturated fat content provide benefits that help lower cholesterol.

(NaturalNews) Wrinkles are mainly associated with changes in our skin as we grow older. This natural aging process is inevitable but we can limit the extent and severity.

Wrinkles can be those fine surface lines as well as the deep furrows. The areas usually most affected are the sensitive skin near the eyes, the lips and neck. If the collagen and elastin in the connective tissues of our skin is weakened or if they decrease in number, wrinkles can then appear. Skin damaged in such a way appears thinner and loses fat content, elasticity and smoothness. Gravity also plays a part as it allows the lax tissue to sag. Skin ages all over the body but the process can be hastened where there has been excessive sun exposure. Apart from these two reasons, there are many other ways in which skin damage, and of course wrinkles, can be caused:

– Dryness and lack of moisture
– Excessive work or leisure time outdoors
– Tanning booths
– Heredity
– Gravity
– Injury or surgery to the skin
– Acne and various other skin diseases which have a tendency to scar
– Smoking which hastens the aging process while cigarette smoke is one of the biggest culprits for premature wrinkles
– Pollution such as air pollutants, dust, chemicals and harsh lights
– Muscle movement or repeated actions such as squinting, smiling and frowning
– The use of drugs
– Stress
– Weight loss because the volume of the fat cells is drastically reduced
– Lack of Vitamin E which can cause the quality of the skin to deteriorate

Over the counter anti-wrinkle potions and lotions may well contain harmful toxins such as parabens, mineral oil, paraffin, petrolatum, and many others and should be avoided. Skin is thin and easily penetrable so whatever you apply to your skin quickly enters the bloodstream.

Keep those wrinkles at bay naturally by:

– A twice daily regime of cleansing the skin of all impurities and make up. Use natural products and avoid hot water as the heat causes an increase in the chemical reactions in the chlorine in your water supply. Pat dry rather than rubbing and scrubbing with the towel.
– Applying a natural moisturizer. It improves the water holding capacity of the skin.
– Using a natural eye cream for the delicate area round the eyes using the 3rd finger because that digit has the lightest touch.
– Using a natural anti wrinkle cream at night with added nutrients. Coconut oil, body butter or a pure essentials oil wrinkles treatment will nourish but not clog your skin.
– Mashing 1/4 banana until it is a creamy consistency. Gently massage into your face, leaving it on for 30 minutes or more before rinsing off with warm water followed by a dash of cold. Gently pat dry.
– Applying flaxseed oil which is the richest vegetable source of omega-3 fatty acids, essential for lubricated and supple skin.
– Sleeping on your back to reduce the gravitational pull on the skin on your face and to avoid puffiness in the morning.
– Drinking your 8 glasses of water every day. The skin is the first organ to suffer if you are dehydrated.
– Eating a healthy diet which includes plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. Blueberries are especially packed with antioxidants to fight skin-damaging free radicals.
– Not smoking.

Although wrinkles are part of the process of getting older, their appearance can be diminished with extra care and good natural treatment.

Natural Oils that Protect You and Your Loved Ones from the Sun (Page 2 of 2)

More about Oils that Help Gain Sun Protection

Jojoba Oil – Jojoba oil is more correctly described as liquid wax. Like Macadamia oil, the properties of jojoba oil are akin to that of human sebum or the skin’s natural oil. As a sunscreen ingredient, jojoba oil not only provides natural moisturizers for the skin but also provides healing and anti-inflammatory elements through its natural substance called myristic acid. Myristic acid is a form of fatty acid naturally occurring in plant oils. This oil has an SPF rating of 4.

Sesame Seed Oil- Sesame seed oil is said to be composed of 20% protein and 50% lipids which gives the gamma tocopherol (Vitamin E) content. Tocopherol provides stable anti-oxidative mechanisms which include eliminating free radicals. UVR rays are said to be capable of activating the release of free radicals in skin cells. The characteristic of being stable means they do not easily breakdown under the sun’s UVR or when kept in storage. As a sunscreen ingredient, it has an SPF rating of 4.

Grapeseed Oil- This oil is said to be rich in oligometric proanthrocyanidins or OPC. These are like the sesame seed oil components which hunt down free radicals that cause aging, with the purpose of eliminating them from the body system. Studies show that the OPC in grapeseed is twenty times more effective than vitamin C in eradicating free radicals in its function as an antioxidant. The antioxidating capabilities also promote the self-repair process of cells, which is important when the skin becomes affected by the sun’s UVR rays. The SPF rating for this oil as a sunscreen ingredient is 4.

Avocado Oil – This fruit is highly regarded by the Aztecs of Mexico for its high nutritional content. Avocado oil is rich in vitamins A, B, D and E , fatty acids and lecithin. Avocado oil has quick-acting capacity to be absorbed by the skin tissue and provides the skin with emollients that can hydrate, nourish and regenerate the epidermis or the outer skin layer. Avocado oil has an SPF rating of 4 as a sunscreen ingredient.

Raspberry Seed Oil – This is considered a superior source of moisturizer and contains skin emollients in the form of alpha and gamma tocopherols (Vitamin E), high concentrations of Vitamin A, antioxidants and fatty acids. Due to these traits, raspberry seed oil is given an SPF rating of 4 as a sunscreen ingredient.

Coconut Oil – This oil is abundant in tropical countries and is also known as coconut butter when it assumes solid form at room temperature. Oil extract is called virgin coconut oil if it was derived from the dried meat of the coconut fruit. Coconut oil is clear but rich in fatty acids and moisturizing elements that give it anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-microbial properties. It is ideal as a sunscreen agent because of its highly stable characteristics under any condition and capability for an indefinite shelf-life during storage. However, as oil that provides natural sun protection, it only garnered an SPF rating of 2.

There are other natural ingredients available that possess similar healing and protective properties like the natural oils described above. In fact, one natural ingredient which is also ideal as a sunscreen ingredient is Shea Butter, which has an SPF rating of 6. This natural ingredient comes from the Karite or Mangifolia tree found abundant in the savannahs of Africa. Considering this continent’s high levels of exposure to the sun, Shea Butter is widely and effectively used in lieu of other oils that provide natural sun protection.

Mapuana

Ok, if you scroll more then half way down to RESULTS and DISCUSSIONS, you’ll find the scientific evidence of the highest and lower rated SPF plant based and essential oils which would be best to use in an oil or lotion formula for DIY sun protection. Some of the EO’s mentioned in this article such as Peppermint, Lavender and Tea Tree EO can also be used for bug repellent. From researching, Lemongrass EO is one of the best for repelling mosquitos. If you take Lavender, Tea Tree and Peppermint EO’s with you, they’ll cover remedies for jet lag, bug bites, head or toothaches, sun burn remedy, cuts, bruises, ect. Also, Lavender and Tea Tree oil can be applied directly to the skin without being first diluted in a base oil. You’ll be very well prepared, bug proofed and sun protected. You do not want to use any citrus EO’s as they cause sensitivity in the sun.

Among the fixed oils taken, SPF value of olive oil was found to be the highest. Similarly among essential oils, SPF value of peppermint oil was found to be the highest.